Jonah Posted August 11, 2020 Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 Hello all ive just completed the restoration of my Spitfire Mk3, well as far as any restoration is ever complete! ive be thinking about the upcoming ethanol fuel change, the governments ultimate plan to get petrol cars off the road and how it might affect classic car values. I’d be interested to get any views on this. I haven’t yet upgraded the valve seats on the cylinder head. i’ve also been watching some classic car electric conversions, is this a viable future option for a Spitfire? thanks in advance Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted August 11, 2020 Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 18 minutes ago, Julian Jones said: ive be thinking about the upcoming ethanol fuel change, the governments ultimate plan to get petrol cars off the road and how it might affect classic car values. IJulian It won't, really. We've had all sorts of scare stories over the decades - loss of leaded, ethanol in petrol, high emission penalties, lack of safety 'gadgets', conversion to electric, conversion to steam, conversion to pedal power... they come and go and prices, whilst there has been a boom from time to time with misguided investors looking to make money, stabilise somewhere around the middle where they've always been. People have been panicked into selling - 'quick, before we're stuck with a car we can't use and can't sell'... and then a few years later have wondered what all the fuss was about. When we got zero road tax it was going to lead to hooligans buying classics as they were cheap, and their boy-racer driving would get us all banned; when the MOT exemption came in all the old unroadworthy cars causing serious accidents were going to get us all banned... We can't see the future but I doubt I'll lose any sleep about being forced off the road any day soon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted August 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2020 Thanks for putting this into perspective Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 dont buy must haves or addatives ..........., and remember the millennium clock scares ...........we;re doomed I agree with Colin as for ethanol problems we have not had any known problems so far ever recorded on here (so far) but lots of experience with crap aftermarket anything rubber including supposed R9 hose rubbish you dont really need any lead or octane addatives the engines cope really well with lots of lead memory and just use 97+ ron fuel lead memory will reduce if the valve seats get re cut . then you may like to use it till then sleep easy buy fuel drive car smile Pete 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 On the subject of lead memory, how long did it take to build up. For example, the valves on mine were recut in about 1986, and were run on leaded petrol until it was mothballed in about 1997... about 10,000 miles worth, maybe more. Would that be sufficient to build up the memory. I have used an additive since recomissioning about 2 years ago so that should also help build up nemory. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I don't know whether there's been proper research on the subject but my gut feel is that 10000 miles is probably enough. My GT6 had its valves ground in in 1993 and probably did about 10000 miles on 4* before it disappeared. It's shown no signs of VSR after 20 years on ULG, including four RBRRs, with only very intermittent use of additive. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 i get the feeling lead addative just makes your spark plugs go pink pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 No, that's Redex. But you're right, there's a component in some additives, I think called Ferrocene, that makes them go pink. My Herald spark plugs were pink originally, anyway... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 When I bought my Herald in 2015 the engine had been rebuilt/restored in 2012 ish. There is a label for the garage that did it on the heater so I phoned them. They confirmed they had done work on it as it smoked like a chimney, but the owner didn't have hardened seats fitted, so I do use an additive as I assume the valves had at least been reground if not replaced. Hence no lead memory, I have no signs of problems so will continue to use it for piece of mind. I just regard the cost as part of the running costs. Each to there own, the important thing is to keep them on the road. 🛣️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 12, 2020 Report Share Posted August 12, 2020 I think that Doug had the 'pinks' in time gone by. I've never suffered pink plugs with valvemaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted August 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2020 Thanks everyone, your thoughts and comments have really helped me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted August 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2020 Hello all, I took my Mk3 Spitfire to my local village garage to get the safety aspects of my restoration checked as they would do for an MOT. the tyres look fine with plenty of tread, no uneven wear and no visible cracking but have been on the car since I bought it for restoration 10 years ago, I told the garage this but the advice was they’re fine. my engineering brain tells me that rubber degrades over time both internally and externally, should I be concerned enough to change the tyres and ignore the advice? thanks Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted August 16, 2020 Report Share Posted August 16, 2020 Ten year old tyres will be road legal and unlikely to fail catastrophically but they won't grip as well as new ones. I'd be looking to change them once you're confident the car is back on the road and won't need to be laid up again for more work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 16, 2020 Report Share Posted August 16, 2020 I think that many people view 7 to 10 years as the maximum these days. I have read that age laws are probably coming in for some commercial vehicals which will be extended to others in due course I'm sure. But then, the law is one thing, safety.... something else. When I checked on the age of my tyres, they didn't have a date of production stamp. All new fitted very quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 certainly old tryes can look good, but they do loose much of their grip and the ride becomes hard we had a vitesse local car which would spin its wheels in top gear due to old age hardening , had no grip at all and in the wet just dangerous. dont mess with well its black and round it is all you have between you and the tamac essential you keep a good eye on tyre ages donr end up in a ditch after a lot of restoration when you find you dont have the grip you expected . Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 We have a couple of skinflint members who have both had issues with aged tyres failing (bleb on inside one blew other couldn't hold the steering wheel) fortunately no injuries or car damage but scared the sh**t out of them. Even then we had to threaten them with withdrawing their Club Permit on the car (effectively their registration) unless they replaced all the cars tyres Up until around 15 years ago it was normal for Taxi owners to leave their new tyres out in the sun for an extended period so they got hard so when they were fitted they lasted a long time, practice has stopped now! Personally I go for the softest rubber compound I can find as I will never wear the tyres out on my classics due to mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted August 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 16 hours ago, Julian Jones said: Hello all, I took my Mk3 Spitfire to my local village garage to get the safety aspects of my restoration checked as they would do for an MOT. the tyres look fine with plenty of tread, no uneven wear and no visible cracking but have been on the car since I bought it for restoration 10 years ago, I told the garage this but the advice was they’re fine. my engineering brain tells me that rubber degrades over time both internally and externally, should I be concerned enough to change the tyres and ignore the advice? thanks Julian Thank you so much everyone, you’ve confirmed my anxiety so the tyres will be changed, do you have a recommended tyre manufacturer etc for the Spitfire? on a wider point your sage advice raises concerns about garages advising customers that 10 year old tyres are safe in all respects Best Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 Usage verses age of replacement, is not something that I have ever considered. When most average classic drivers only cover (say) 2,000 miles a year, that means only 20,000 miles useage in the life of a tyre. If you consider the mileage covered by a set of tyres in a Grand Prix (yes, I know that they cost mega bucks) it makes sense to get the best out of a set within the allotted time scale. What that actually means.... I don't know, but its raining, miserable and I need the go out to do some work on the car... but the coffee has just arrived so maybe later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 as you will age them rather than wear them out dont go for top end makes there are good budget tyres out there , just look at the noise and wet performance spec if that can be trusted and find a happy compromise Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 So, a soft compound tyre grips better but wears faster. We do limited mileage and are unlikely to wear out tyres before they pass their use by date. There is no point laying out top money when you will not get the full useage out of the tyres.... Therefore.... Between us all, we should be able to come up with recommendations for tyres which.. Have a fair price, give good grip, wear out at around 10,000 miles, offer good handling and a smooth ride. Of we go then....discuss. (Yes, its still raining and miserable, I haven't done any work and more coffee has arrived.... oh yes, and a thunder storm is forecast.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 ive had a coffee but i dont need any tyres , yes we have thunder and now the suns blasting out again ... but any on line search will find nexen for £48 and budgets lower , not done much of a search as more sun and coffee arrived and my previuosly used Co has folded but people like tyres on the drive means you dont sit in a squalid rest area you use your own and drink your own coffee and loo's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonah Posted August 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 Contemplated a coffee but the sun has been shining so a cold one in the hot tub (lockdown guilty purchase) was my place to think about tyres! tyres on the drive fits my socially distanced working from home lifestyle and she who must be obeyed will be happy, thank you best Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 In 2000 I had four brand new tyres fitted to the Herald Estate restoration, £25 each, they're still on it but in that time they've covered about... fifty feet. The tread's still great, though. The code is K4400; the GT6 code appears to be CCF1810 (Firestones) but to be honest I thought they were older. I've to buy four tyres for the 1200 convertible tomorrow or the next day so will price the GT6 too. The aged but unworn Herald versions will go on my 6 x 4 trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 I had some tyres recently at Pro Tyre. They were on offer at 10% off (happened to be the only ones with discount, though they the ones I wanted anyway). Looked at the date on them, after! and they were a year old. Maybe the reason why they were cheaper?. Maybe worth confirming the date on any new tyres before there fitted?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 My local garage has done me a deal in the past on tyres for my modern because they needed to clear aging stock, but then they knew that I was 25k a year, and therefore would have worn them out before they got old enough to be an issue. Checked the tyres on the Herald the other month, none match, and they are all over 10 years old! Good job the Herald’s going nowhere soon. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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